Shoppes can’t solve holiday traffic jams

Thursday

Jan 3, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Holiday shopping can be enough of a headache, but for those stuck waiting to exit the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley the weekends before Christmas, the backups lasting upward of one to two hours were a nightmare.

By Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Holiday shopping can be enough of a headache, but for those stuck waiting to exit the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley the weekends before Christmas, the backups lasting upward of one to two hours were a nightmare.

The problem, according to local officials, is the single access road from Route 122A off Route 146. When incoming traffic from the highway exit ramps backs up in intersections at the traffic lights, it can cause gridlock, preventing cars from exiting.

Heidi Grady of Sterling posted on Facebook: “I don’t ever go there so didn’t know about the traffic and was stuck in the parking aisle for over an hour before even getting into the line to try and exit — and my car was on empty, I was so afraid I was going to run out of gas!”

The 790,000-square-foot mall sits on 131 acres (70 of which are developed) with 60 stores, restaurants and a movie theater. It opened in 2003 after years of planning and Planning Board public hearings for a special permit through the highway corridor overlay district.

The initial special permit was granted April 30, 2001, and a major expansion proposal to add the Cinema De Lux wing was approved Feb. 10, 2003.

Most of the traffic concerns raised during approval focused on the potential impact on neighboring residential areas on Tainter Hill Road and McCracken Road. Flow within the mall and its sole access point were not major points of contention.

“It can be a pain during the Christmas season, absolutely,” said Town Planner Laurie A. Connors. But she added, “We don’t get complaints any other time of the year.”

Although the mall’s single access road can be a bottleneck, Ms. Connors said the geography of the site would make it extremely difficult to add another entrance or exit.

The slope of the embankment on which the mall sits exceeds the 8 percent maximum grade that would be allowed for another ramp to Route 146. On the other sides, the property borders railroad tracks and the Blackstone River, two schools and a winding, narrow residential road.

“If they were going to do another major access, I don’t know where they’re going to do it,” Ms. Connors said.

An emergency gate, which is locked, provides access from the Raymond E. Shaw Elementary School to the mall behind Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Despite the traffic snarls, the mall has been commercially vibrant and benefits the town, according to local officials.

Ms. Connors said a representative of developer WS Development of Chestnut Hill has told her that many of the mall’s stores are top performers in the Northeast.

Selectman E. Bernard Plante, board chairman, said the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley brings in more than $1 million in tax revenue each year, exceeding the initial assessor’s estimate of $900,000. The town did not provide any tax-increment financing for the project.

He said recent improvements to McCracken Road, including a dedicated-turn lane into the mall at its entrance, have helped move traffic through that congested intersection.

David Fleming, spokesman for WS Development, wrote in an email: “While peak shopping times bring additional traffic to the site, we have continually worked closely with the local authorities to enhance our traffic management planning and access which includes a peak time shuttle program to assist our visitors in shopping the entire site without having to move their vehicle during their visit.”

Public safety officials share plans for handling holiday traffic flow with mall management in September or October each year, according to Acting Police Chief Donald Desorcy. Mall management pays for the traffic details through fees charged to its tenants.

He said his department typically provides five traffic detail officers at the mall on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Black Friday, the shopping day after Thanksgiving, they arrange for 12 officers.

Some mall tenants, such as Cinema De Lux and TGI Friday, hire additional detail officers, acting Chief Desorcy said. And officers on duty can call for reinforcements if the traffic appears to be getting bad.

Police also patrol on foot on Fridays and Saturdays.

“I think we have it down to a science. We had a learning curve at the beginning,” acting Chief Desorcy said.

Sometimes things still go awry. On the Saturday afternoon before Christmas this year, acting Chief Desorcy said, he received a call on his cellphone that traffic was backed up onto Route 146.

The dispatcher told him she had received more than 200 calls. People were cursing at police officers, complaining about running out of gas and nearly coming to blows as tempers ran short, according to acting Chief Desorcy.

The entrance to the mall was temporarily closed so officers could “flush” traffic out from the lower and upper parking areas. The line along the main trunk extending back to Target and Kohl’s took two hours to clear.

Acting Chief Desorcy said police have closed the entrance only three or four times in the last few years.

“Once you stop that main trunk (back to Target), you’re stuck,” he said.

The most congested times are in late afternoons, especially on weekends in December.

“The best time to go up, no matter what time of year it is, is early in the day,” acting Chief Desorcy said. “We’ve never had a major tie-up of traffic before noontime.”

Contact Susan Spencer by email at susan.spencer@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanSpencerTG.

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